Miss Kerala, Ranjini Menon, wants to be known as a musician. She was in the city recently.

AN ASPIRING musician, Ranjini Menon had come down from London for a holiday when she came to know of the Miss Kerala pageant. Having an antipathy to beauty contests, she did not apply. But two of her aunts cajoled, persuaded and tricked her by turns into going for the contest.

"The rules were okay," she says. "The mother of the participant had to accompany the contestant throughout and the dress codes were sober. What attracted me the most was the absence of a swimsuit round."

But beauty contests are not for her, asserts Ranjini. She wishes to continue with her MBA course at Cardiff University, Wales. After finishing the course, she wants to be in the U.K. for a while.

A brief stint at her father's business was what brought a shift in her plan of doing Law after her Honours in Political Science from Lady Sri Ram College, New Delhi.

The Miss Kerala title brought with it a lot of film offers. "But," says Ranjini, "if I should be in the entertainment industry, it should be in music -- playback singing, albums or even light music programmes. I'm quite clear about that."

She has learnt Carnatic music for 10 years and Hindustani for another five years. She has also dabbled in western music at her college music society. Ranjini's mother, Rani Menon, is the founder president of the Alaknanda Academy of Dance and Music in New Delhi, which gives training in 12 disciplines such as violin, sitar, and dances such as Odissi, Kathak and Bharatanatyam. "Being a part of its activities has helped me polish my art," she says.

Ranjini has also been approached to cut albums. But since these projects are still in the preliminary stages and may take up to a year to become a reality, she plans to use the time to fine-tune herself as an artiste.

She listens to a lot of albums and likes to sing along.

But music is not her only forte. She is a classical dancer and a long-distance runner, who has taken part in various marathons in Cardiff. She was also a basketball player at the school and college levels. But when she started "developing muscles", her dance teacher advised her against it. Now her sporting activities are limited to running and swimming. She reads a lot, mostly light stuff. "Serious reading needs a lot of time and a particular mindset," she says.